1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus and a controlling method thereof, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus capable of controlling an image forming job using off-line output quota information when a job command is input in an offline state where connection to a server is cut off, and a controlling method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus refers to an apparatus which prints print data generated by a terminal apparatus such as a computer on a recording paper, and examples of an image forming apparatus include copy machine, printer, fax machine, and a Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP) which performs the above functions in a single device.
An image forming apparatus may be connected to a server which manages output quota in order to limit output quota for each user. Such a system is referred to as a Managed Printing Service of Solution (MPS) system which manages a printer of a network, an image forming apparatus like an MFP, and operation logs therein (for example, printing, copying, faxing, scanning, and so on) and processes business logic such as the amount of usage of each individual and group, charging thereof, and so on by using a quota management function.
In the conventional MPS system environment, if the connection between the server which manages output quota and the image forming apparatus is cut off, a user may be allowed to perform an output operation without limit, regardless of output quota allocated to each user, or an output operation is prohibited, causing inconvenience to the corresponding user.